Army to be deployed at 'sensitive, very sensitive' polling stations: ECP
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided on Thursday that it would seek the army's help to provide security at polling booths.
This decision was taken at a meeting, led by the ECP, regarding security for the upcoming general elections.
Army personnel will be deployed at 'sensitive' and 'very sensitive' polling stations.
The commission also wants the army to oversee the printing process of ballot papers as well as their distribution.
The electoral watchdog has also decided to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at more than 20,000 polling stations throughout Pakistan.
Defaulters identified
The ECP has identified 383 election candidates as bank defaulters of hundreds of millions of rupees during the scrutiny of their nomination papers, DawnNewsTV reported on Thursday citing sources in the ECP.
Among the candidates who owe money to banks or have secured loan waivers is a certain Iftikhar Ahmed Khan, who owes a staggering Rs642 million.
Of the other poll hopefuls, Naveed Mukhtar owes Rs570m, of which over Rs13m was waived; Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh owes Rs560m, of which over Rs14m has been waived; Rashid Yaqoob, who owes Rs528m, of which Rs13m has been waived; Muhammad Khan, a defaulter of Rs23m, and Malik Waheed Khan, a defaulter of Rs5m, with Rs38m waived.